by Rick Stein
from Complete Seafood
(Ten Speed Press, 2004)
Serves 4
The salsa, which is a mixture of, among other things, cool citrus and hot chile peppers, makes a perfect backdrop for the snapper. Although you can make this in the broiler, opt for the outdoor grill; the taste is that much better.—Rick Stein
convert Ingredients
For the salsa
2 large medium-hot red chile peppers
4 ounces peeled, cooked tiger shrimp, thickly sliced
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 ripe but firm avocado, peeled and cut into small dice
1/2 ripe but firm mango, peeled and cut into small dice
Juice of 1 lime
Pinch of salt
For the fish
Four (6-ounce) snapper fillets, skin on
Extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Cilantro sprigs, for garnish
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Directions
Make the salsa
1. Cut the chiles in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with the tip of a small knife; leave behind the ribs to give the salsa a little more heat. Cut the chiles across into thin slices. Then simply mix all the salsa ingredients together.
Make the fish
1. If you are using a charcoal grill, prepare and light it 30 to 40 minutes before you want to cook the fish.
2. If you are not cooking the fish over charcoal, put a ridged cast-iron grill pan over a high heat (or preheat the broiler). Brush the snapper fillets on both sides with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Cut each one into three, slightly on the diagonal.
3. Cook the pieces of snapper, either skin-side down on the grill or grill-pan, or skin-side up under the broiler, for 3 to 4 minutes.
4. To serve, spoon the salsa onto four plates and arrange the grilled strips of fish on top. Drizzle a little oil around the edge of the plates and garnish with cilantro sprigs.
Alternative fish: Red mullet, sea bass, bream or porgy, John dory, or gray or striped mullet.
Recipe © 2004 Rick Stein. All rights reserved.
LC
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LC to your 
[Ellen Fuss] Wow. On the recommendation of a friend, I made this for dinner last night. The salsa came together in a flash and a quick rest in the grill pan was all that my fish needed. This was amazing. It was spicy, sweet and perfect. I used a ridged cast-iron grill pan and found it needed a bit longer that the three to four minutes called for, but I am thinking perhaps the grill pan wasn’t hot enough when I put the fish in. In the future, I’d consider adding some black beans to the salsa and combining it with even more cooked shrimp for a cold supper. My produce shop had only jalapeños, but I left in the ribs and some seeds to get enough heat. I was so happy to see perfectly ripened avocados as well as mangos at my market and thrilled to have a recipe that pulled these ingredients together so beautifully.
Planning on making this for dinner. Not sure what is meant by “hot red chile pepper” Does this mean dried or fresh??
Thank you
In this case it means a fresh chile, Eleanor. Perhaps a serrano or a Thai bird chile…if these are too hot for your liking, or if they don’t have them at the store, a green chile, such as a jalapeño, will do just fine…
Thanks so much, will let you know how it turns out.
Please do! I’ll be waiting to hear, as I’m experiencing snapper envy as I type…
We really enjoyed this dish. I used jalapeño, scooped out the seeds and left the ribs, but I felt it could have used a little more heat. Despite that, I really liked it, and it was a quick, easy, delicious weeknight meal.
Swell, Eleanor! Definitely try a serrano or Thai bird chile next time if you can find them. Chances are a habanero would be too hot, but I think the hint of fruitiness from either of these would be lovely.